Members of the Trump administration keep dropping hints – that withdrawing from NAFTA is not in their current plans.

The latest example came when Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told a gathering in Congress on Thursday that he’s cautiously hopeful there will be a deal.

He wouldn’t even discuss the potential consequences of a U.S. withdrawal from NAFTA when asked by a congressman because – Mnuchin said, that’s not the U.S. administration’s main priority.

It’s the third such hint from a prominent member of the administration in recent days.

In a public meeting this week, U.S. trade czar Bob Lighthizer said progress is being made in the renegotiation – and he described the anxiety about a U.S. withdrawal as – something in the past tense.

And U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has recently said he expects a NAFTA deal by year’s end.